And Now, A Completely Different Sort Of Baseball Card

July 26, 1985|By Tom Popson.

When we were kids, in the summertime we would carry with us baseball cards from our collections that we wanted to trade. Whenever another card collector was encountered--gobbling brightly colored things near a candy counter, perhaps, or chasing a grasshopper--the cards would be produced and other activities would cease temporarily.

The owner of the cards would flip rapidly through the selection he had up for barter. The other collector would chant ``Got him, got him, got him, got him`` as the cards passed in review, each ``Got him`` signaling that the person already possessed that card and wished to see the next one please.

Occasionally, however, the mantra-like string of ``Got hims`` would be interrupted with a ``Don`t got him.`` This was usually said with a degree of excitement. It indicated that the speaker did not possess that card and perhaps now some business could be transacted.

What you see on this page are some definite ``Don`t got hims,`` and, yes, they will be the subject of some transactions.

The 11 drawings of White Sox players here are part of a set of 17 depicting Sox players and Comiskey Park. Executed by artists who live in Chicago--or have lived in Chicago--the drawings were commissioned by the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago and have been made into sets of ``baseball cards`` that are being sold to the public, with proceeds going to the Renaissance Society, an organization that promotes the cause of contemporary art.

One hundred sets of cards signed by the artists--among them Ed Paschke, William Conger, Karl Wirsum and Jim Nutt--and by the players--among them Harold Baines, Jerry Hairston, Julio Cruz and Tom Paciorek, who was traded to the Mets after the cards were printed--are on sale for $450 a set. The cards, each measuring 4 by 5 inches and printed on heavy chrome stock, may be purchased by obtaining an order form from the Renaissance Society, 5811 Ellis Ave., Chicago 60637. (The cards, incidentally, do not carry those fine-print stats, such as lifetime batting average, found on the back of ordinary baseball cards.)

In addition to signed sets, the Renaissance Society has available unsigned sets of cards for $25. There is also a poster compilation of the cards that sells for $5.

Artist Ed Paschke selected the artists who would take part in the project. The original artwork for the cards will be on exhibit through Aug. 3 at the Renaissance Society (open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday). Another exhibit will be held at the Marianne Deson Gallery, 340 W. Huron St., from Aug. 8 through Aug. 23, with a reception Aug. 8 from 5 to 8 p.m. Deson Gallery is open 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or by appointment.

The original artwork will be placed on auction at an Art Ball picnic to be held at Comiskey Park Aug. 24 at 4 p.m. before the Sox-Blue Jays game.

(Silent bids, however, will be accepted beforehand at either the Renaissance Society or Deson exhibits.) Tickets for the Art Ball picnic, which will be held at The Patio under the Comiskey Park scoreboard, are $50 and include dinner and a box seat for the game.

The idea for the Sox cards came about when Henry S. Landan and Claudia Luebbers, members of the Renaissance Society board, saw a similar set of cards that depicted members of the Oakland A`s.

Now the only thing we want to know is: What on Earth is Floyd Bannister looking at?